New funny book day.
I swear to you, the character’s name is “Spunky the Monkey:”
Anyway, SPOILERS ahead, maybe. I ain’t sayin’ for sure.
Concrete: The Human Dilemma #1 – I’ve been a Concrete fan almost since the very beginning, having started with his second appearance in Dark Horse Presents all those years ago. It’s been too long since the character has been on our shelves, so I’m very glad to see it again. That said, my first glance through the book made me fear that the preachiness factor of Concrete may have finally overwhelmed the story (this mini-series’ topic: overpopulation), but now that I’ve actually read it, it’s no more preachy than previous series have been. The back-up is an old abandoned fantasy project Chadwick was working on…pretty, but I think I would rather have had more World Below stories.
What If…General Ross Had Become The Hulk? – this bodes well for Peter David’s coming run on the regular Hulk title (starting next week!), since David presents in this title yet another spin on the Hulk formula that I don’t think we’ve seen before. I’m not referring to Ross becoming the Hulk, but rather the kind of Hulk Ross becomes. Well done, and Pat Olliffe’s art (assisted by Sal Buscema) is nicely done as well…his work has really grown on me over the years.
Adam Strange #4 – hey, the Omega Men! I like the Omega Men…don’t look at me like that, I like ’em and I don’t care who knows it. Anyway, I’ve run out of ways to say that the art is spectacular in this comic, so just refer to previous reviews. Plus, I’ve seen mentions here and there that this mini-series is supposed to tie in to some big hoohah coming from DC in 2005. Aside from a reference in a gossip column and talk among my fellow webloggers, I’m not sure where this idea is coming from. Do any of you know any more about this? There may be a slight nod in that direction in this issue, unless I’m reading something into the story that’s not really there.
Superman #212 – I give up. I’ll just wait ’til this story is finished and read it all at once…maybe it’ll flow better. (I did this with Joe Kelly’s run on JLA — and that turned out to be pretty good when you took it in all at once.)
Superman/Batman #16 – whew, new readers need not apply…this one’s for the fanboys, and it’s not ashamed of it. Superman and Batman bounce from one version of the DC Universe to the next, and we see a lot of old favorites along the way (that’s Kamandi on the cover, and I won’t spoil the other surprises inside. Oh, okay, Jonah Hex is there, too).
Legion of Super-Heroes #1 – the newest reboot of DC’s long-running franchise is here, hoping against hope that someone other that what must be a diminishing number of longtime Legion fans will start reading the book. The newest aspect of this new reboot is that we’re not starting with the origin of the team, as they’re already clearly established by the time the story begins. Hopefully, this reboot will stick.
Dorothy #1 – I’m not big on the whole fumetti thing, but Dorothy, with its modern take on the Oz mythos, is quite fun. A teen gal, complete with piercing and dyed hair, seeks an escape from her drab Kansas life, and finds it in the form of a tornado that whisks her away to a mysterious land…but you knew that, I bet. It’s all set up so far, just getting Dorothy into Oz, but it’s all beautifully designed, photographed, and colored…see more at the official web site, where you can even order the not-distributed-yet-through-Diamond #2.
Other releases:
Comic Book Artist Vol. 2 #5 – I stopped reading this series when it changed publishers…still looks like a good magazine, but I can only read so many comic mags, you know? But this issue has a nice full-color ad on the back cover for the long-delayed Swamp Men book, featuring interviews and features focusing around Swamp Thing, Man-Thing, the Heap, and other swamp critters (but probably not Pogo). Oh, and there’s a nice Howard Chaykin interview in this issue as well.
The Incredibles #2 – the first issue sold okay for us, but I really wonder if anyone’s still going to care about this series once #4 shows up on our shelves? Maybe if the DVD is out by then….
Quit City is the newest Avatar book by Warren Ellis, and I completely forgot to take a look at it. Hey, new comics day is busy, I can’t remember everything. I did want to note that it’s out, at least.
Girl Genius Vol. 3 – I’m thankful that Phil Foglio’s latest project is being supported with consistent trade paperback reprinting…this makes it a very easy sell for us.
Inu Yasha Vol. 20 – I haven’t the faintest idea what this series is about – with a few exceptions, I’m not a manga maven (I let pal Dorian handle that), but I do try to keep track of what’s selling. This series has always done very well for us, and this $8.95 format really encourages people to give it a try.
Daisy Kutter #4 – I gave up my copy of the first issue to one of our customers, as I wasn’t able to get any reorders in, and I haven’t been following the rest of the series as a result. I will, however, get the trade paperback collection. The art in this series is astounding…loose and cartoony, and very attractive.
Star Wars: Empire #28 – okay, so you have a character that looks like Peter Cushing’s character of Tarkin from the first Star Wars movie, he’s apparently a “Grand Moff” like Tarkin, and he’s even drawn in some of the same poses as Tarkin from that film…and yet, it’s not Tarkin. That threw me off a bit, there.
Elric: Making of A Sorcerer #2 – I love Walt Simonson’s work. I just have no interest whatsoever in Elric. Sorry. Looks nice, though.
